'Urbanisation cannot be prevented'

Calling for a national debate on urban governance, vice president Hamid Ansari on Friday said India's urban centres should remain "national" in their character and not succumb to narrow or sectarian monopolies.

"Urbanisation cannot be prevented, it is in our interest that we manage it better and direct it to serve our national goals and public interest," Ansari said while delivering the Yusuf Meherally Memorial Lecture at the Mumbai University, organised by the Yusuf Meherally Centre, which is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year.